Z-Rock Goes Entirely Local
A new local radio station made its debut on Monday, although technically, it’s not new at all.
It’s KNJY-FM, 103.9, the same station that has been known as Z-Rock since 1994. As of Monday, however, the programming and DJs are no longer piped in via satellite from Dallas.
Z-Rock is now 100 percent locally programmed, and owner John Rook has already lured KZZU-FM’s Casey Christopher over to be the morning man and the program director. A second DJ, Sam Hill, is also on the air, and within a few weeks the station will have local DJs 24 hours a day.
The music will remain the same - “new rock,” which means ‘90s hard rock.
The change came about after the Dallas-based Z-Rock network announced that it was folding. Rook thought about going with a different satellite network, but then he had a better idea.
“This station is huge with listeners 18-34,” said Rook. “If it does that well on satellite, what will it do local?”
So far, according to Rook, the response has been tremendous. He said the phones have been ringing off the hooks.
Christopher came aboard because he wanted to build a station from the ground up. Also, he loves the music.
“I knew this town was crazy for this format,” said Christopher. “The local touch should put it right over the edge.”
By the way, it will retain the nickname Z-Rock.
The cloning of KPBX-FM?
KPBX-FM (Spokane Public Radio, 91.1) has acquired KSFC-FM (92.1), formerly the low-power student station at Spokane Falls Community College, with the idea of establishing a “second stream” station in Spokane.
The tentative plan is to boost the new station’s power, and use it to air more National Public Radio programming that KPBX-FM doesn’t have enough time to air. KPBX general manager Dick Kunkel said it would be like having “public radio 48 hours a day.” Many public radio stations around the country have acquired second signals.
However, the new station still has to clear some significant FCC hurdles before this can become a reality. Final approval is not a foregone conclusion and is still at least months away.
We’ll keep you posted.
Here comes ‘NPR Playhouse’
Speaking of KPBX, a new feature called “NPR Playhouse” debuted on Friday and will continue every Friday at 6:30 p.m.
The first four weeks will be a re-creation of an old Marx Brothers radio series called “Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel,” about a shady law firm. These faithful re-creations were produced by the BBC.
This replaces “Rabbit Ears Radio,” which has been in re-runs for months.
Where’s ‘Politically Incorrect’?
The new ABC version of “Politically Incorrect” has been incessantly hyped as airing “Following ‘Nightline’!”
Not in Spokane, it doesn’t. “Politically Incorrect” airs on KXLY-4 at 12:35 a.m. A half-hour paid infomercial intervenes between it and “Nightline.”
Teddie Gibbon, the general sales manager of KXLY, said those infomercials are simply too lucrative, and “Politically Incorrect” is unproven. If “Politically Incorrect” gets great ratings, then the station might move it up.
Meanwhile, if I read between the lines correctly, KXLY feels that irritating its viewers with Ab-Blaster ads is good business.
Our own ‘Crucible’ connection
Diana Pokorny, a ‘75 Ferris High School grad, has a pretty good little project opening this weekend. You may have heard of it. It’s called “The Crucible.”
Pokorny was the co-producer of this movie, which means she can add one more success to her credits. Pokorny, who now lives in L.A., also has been a production manager and/ or production supervisor of such movies as “Last Exit to Brooklyn” and Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts.”
She said “The Crucible” has been her most rewarding project to date.
“I’m more proud of it, hands down, than anything I’ve ever done,” she said.
Who knows? She may even get to add an Oscar to her mantle. She already has an Emmy for producing “Indictment: The McMartin Trial” for HBO last year.
How do we compare?
I’m always hearing people complain about Spokane’s taste in radio. So, I’ve been wondering: How does it compare to the biggest radio markets, such as L.A. or New York? Is it really all that different?
Oh, yeah.
Spokane’s top five stations by format last quarter were: 1. Classic rock, 2. Country, 3. Oldies, 4. Adult Contemporary and 5. Contemporary hits.
Here are the top five in L.A.: 1. Spanish language, 2. Urban, 3. Urban, 4. Talk, 5. Spanish language.
And here are the top five in New York: 1. Contemporary/Rhythmic, 2. Contemporary/Rhythmic, 3. Adult Contemporary, 4. Oldies, 5. Urban.
The top country station in L.A. finished 13th, and the top country station in New York didn’t even crack the top 30.
Tiny dancer
G&B Presents and G&B Select-a-Seat have donated a Dorothy Fowler bronze sculpture, “Dress Rehearsal,” for permanent display in the Spokane Opera House lobby.
Check it out next time you’re there; it’s installed near the front entrance. It’s a life-sized image of a young girl tying the ribbon on her ballet slipper.
Fowler is the Spokane sculptor who did the Katherine Gellhorn bust in the lobby of the Interplayers Ensemble.
Calling all Civic veterans
As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, the Spokane Civic Theatre will honor all past presidents and board members at the Jan. 18 performance of “Deathtrap.”
If you are a former board member or president, call the theater right away to get your invitation, 325-2507.
The music of Lourdes
The Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral Choir in Spokane has a big project for 1997: A concert tour to Rome and southern Italy in May, which will include a performance in St. Peter’s Basilica.
To help finance this ambitious project, they have issued a CD and cassette entitled “Music at Lourdes Volume I.”
In addition, two special events are planned. The first is a special benefit performance of the Spokane Civic Theatre’s “Deathtrap” on Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. The donation is $15.
Then, they plan a Neapolitan Dinner with live entertainment on March 2 and 16 at 1 p.m. at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Call the cathedral office at 358-4290 for information about any of these events.
Anyone interested in joining this trip should also contact the office.
Whitworth to Australia
Here’s another local music group headed to another continent: The Whitworth College Jazz Ensemble is on the way to the Marvelous Melbourne Jazz Festival in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 19-27.
It’s the only American college jazz band to be invited. The director is Dan Keberle.
They’ll be missed
The arts community in Spokane has taken a double blow in recent weeks. First, Mary Gaiser passed away in December.
Then on Tuesday, Frederick “Rick” Scammell, another extraordinarily influential benefactor to the Spokane arts community, passed away at age 47. As the manager of Washington Trust Bank’s charitable donations, and as a board member and trustee of many of the major arts organizations in town, he was an uncommonly effective advocate for the arts.
While mourning his loss, the Spokane arts community must be wondering: Can anybody fill their shoes?
, DataTimes MEMO: To leave a message on Jim Kershner’s voice-mail, call 459-5493. Or send e-mail to jimk@spokesman.com, or regular mail to Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.